1 . Sobhi from Egypt, who has worked as a bodybuilder for almost 60 years, often says that age is just a number. Whenever people ask him when he is going to retire, his only answer is “never”.

It is generally accepted that people grow less active and lose passion for life as they age. However Sobhi believes that age can never block ambitions if people still have strong wills.

Sobhi’s love for sports started when he joined his school gymnastics team. He once won the third place in Cairo’s Gymnastics Championship. In university, he started to pay more attention to bodybuilding, not only for a better shape, but also for a better health.

His body is so well-shaped that it even helped him appear in a famous film. Sobhi played a minor role of a muscleman in the film, which was filmed in Egypt and tells the story of an Ancient Roman soldier who was sent to Egypt by Julius Caesar to monitor one of his commanders.

As an 80-year-old man, Sobhi said training hard and having a good exercise schedule as well as a healthy diet are the real foundations of bodybuilding. He warned young people that taking bodybuilding supplements (补充剂) can lead to health risks. He recommended them to go for vitamins and other all-natural supplements that do not cause harm.

“Sobhi is 40 years older than me, but he does his exercises as if he is much younger than me,” Gabr, an athlete, said. He also said Sobhi is a great example for all athletes at the club, where Sobhi has been working out for the past 40 years. They are lucky to do sports with such a “hero” “We watch him working out in shock. We wish we could just be like him when we are at his age,” Gabr added.

I am very glad that you can share with me about what your after-school life is like.

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Yours,

Li Hua

9 . After moving into my mother’s home to look after her following an illness, I found myself thinking about my _______. It was clear that I _______ to find something that would help me _______ the house more often.

I found my _______ while standing in line at the store checkout one sunny spring day. Red words on the cover of a magazine caught my _______, “Walk Off Weight!”

After _______ about the advantages of walking, I knew I had found the perfect_________that would not only make me spend more time outdoors, but would also help me keep_______.

I didn’t start walking four miles right away; I began_________.After a few weeks, I________from walking two miles every day to between four and six miles every day, My________increased from about three miles per hour to over four.

It wasn’t long before I began to notice the many________in both my physical and emotional health.

I lost________.The extra fat I’d been carrying around my stomach disappeared My body was________up and became more shape. Even my back pain had________!

The advantages to my emotional health were also great. My spirits lifted with each passing day I could hardly________to get up each morning. With more self-confidence, I also found myself to be more sociable and that I began to________meeting new people.

________for my mother became less of a tiring task. Feeling________, 1 was able to look after her with great enthusiasm. I________her to try to become as healthy and as happy as I felt.

10 . The idea that I wasn’t athletic lived with me for years. I wasn’t fond of _______or conflict in sports. What I only enjoyed were _______ things such as playing with phones and watching TV. Not until my Senior High did I _______ I needed a change, as I was in poor health. In Senior Two, my friend, Lora, took part in our school’s marathon club and _______ me to join too. To my relief, there weren’t any qualification tests: everyone who signed up was_______. It’s believed that most people—even those who were _______ in sports— could run a marathon, if they_______ for it.

I still remember the first day of training, when everyone arrived on the school’s playground and the coach _______it’s time to start. Before that, I thought the warming-up would be a _______ jog for about 800 metres along the track as in previous PE classes . However, I soon ________ it was a 2-km run! That’s out of my expectation. After running two kilometres, I was totally ________. More________ , the real exercise for that day was a 10-km run. As soon as I got home, with aching legs, I thought about ________. But with Lora’s encouragement, I finally ________ myself to persist(坚持), determined to get stronger physically.

I didn’t make real progress ________. I ran the last during exercise for a long time. With days passing by, I tried harder and harder. Gradually, during the exercise I could be in the ________ of the team—the fastest runners were always ahead, while the slowest were behind. Because of my ________, warm-up became a real warm-up. The 10-km run turned into a(n)________   practice. For me, who don’t like sports, this was a great ________. I do believe it is from the power of ________. Once you make up your mind, you will definitely make progress.